BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES
Slavery was never legally established in Kansas. Also the racial segregation was less severe then in the deep south like Texas. Segregation was legal by option of the locals but only for the elementary schools. The Brown vs. Board of education or Topeka Kansas was the name of all the cases leading to the non segregation of schools. It took place in Topeka Kansas. the grievances of this was segregated elementary schools and harmful psychological effects from segregation the the African American children.
MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court had misinterpreted the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal protection of the laws did not allow for racial segregation.The Fourteenth Amendment allowed the government to prohibit any discriminatory state action based on race, including segregation in public schools.The Fourteenth Amendment did not specify whether the states would be allowed to establish segregated education.Psychological testing demonstrated the harmful effects of segregation on the minds of African American children.
MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS
The Constitution did not require white and African American children to attend the same schools.Social separation of blacks and whites was a regional custom; the states should be left free to regulate their own social affairs.Segregation was not harmful to black people.Whites were making a good faith effort to equalize the two educational systems. But because black children were still living with the effects of slavery, it would take some time before they were able to compete with white children in the same classroom. THE CHANGE IN THE COURT
In September of 1943 Vinson died and Earl Warrner was appointed chief of justice by President Dwight Eisenhower.
THE COURT DECISION Earl Warren wrote the decision for the Court. He agreed with the civil rights attorneys that it was not clear whether the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment intended to permit segregated public education. The doctrine of separate but equal did not appear until 1896, he noted, and it pertained to transportation, not education ENFORCING THE DECISION
The Brown decision declared the system of legal segregation unconstitutional. But the Court ordered only that the states end segregation with “all deliberate speed.” This vagueness about how to enforce the ruling gave segregationists the opportunity to organize resistance.Although many whites welcomed the Brown decision, a large number considered it an assault on their way of life. Segregationists played on the fears and prejudices of their communities and launched a militant campaign of defiance and resistance.
THE IMPACT and LEGACY In the mid-1950s Americans remained deeply divided over the issue of racial equality. African Americans pressed to have the Brown decision enforced, and many people were unprepared for the intensity of resistance among white southerners. Likewise, defenders of the “southern way of life” underestimated the determination of their black neighbors.The African American freedom struggle soon spread across the country. The original battle for school desegregation became part of broader campaigns for social justice. Fifty years after the Brown decision, the movement has come to include racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and other groups, each demanding equal opportunity.
Brown vs. Board:
BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES
Slavery was never legally established in Kansas. Also the racial segregation was less severe then in the deep south like Texas. Segregation was legal by option of the locals but only for the elementary schools. The Brown vs. Board of education or Topeka Kansas was the name of all the cases leading to the non segregation of schools. It took place in Topeka Kansas. the grievances of this was segregated elementary schools and harmful psychological effects from segregation the the African American children.
MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court had misinterpreted the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal protection of the laws did not allow for racial segregation. The Fourteenth Amendment allowed the government to prohibit any discriminatory state action based on race, including segregation in public schools. The Fourteenth Amendment did not specify whether the states would be allowed to establish segregated education. Psychological testing demonstrated the harmful effects of segregation on the minds of African American children.
MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS
The Constitution did not require white and African American children to attend the same schools. Social separation of blacks and whites was a regional custom; the states should be left free to regulate their own social affairs. Segregation was not harmful to black people. Whites were making a good faith effort to equalize the two educational systems. But because black children were still living with the effects of slavery, it would take some time before they were able to compete with white children in the same classroom.
THE CHANGE IN THE COURT
In September of 1943 Vinson died and Earl Warrner was appointed chief of justice by President Dwight Eisenhower.
THE COURT DECISION
Earl Warren wrote the decision for the Court. He agreed with the civil rights attorneys that it was not clear whether the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment intended to permit segregated public education. The doctrine of separate but equal did not appear until 1896, he noted, and it pertained to transportation, not education
ENFORCING THE DECISION
The Brown decision declared the system of legal segregation unconstitutional. But the Court ordered only that the states end segregation with “all deliberate speed.” This vagueness about how to enforce the ruling gave segregationists the opportunity to organize resistance.Although many whites welcomed the Brown decision, a large number considered it an assault on their way of life. Segregationists played on the fears and prejudices of their communities and launched a militant campaign of defiance and resistance.
THE IMPACT and LEGACY
In the mid-1950s Americans remained deeply divided over the issue of racial equality. African Americans pressed to have the Brown decision enforced, and many people were unprepared for the intensity of resistance among white southerners. Likewise, defenders of the “southern way of life” underestimated the determination of their black neighbors.The African American freedom struggle soon spread across the country. The original battle for school desegregation became part of broader campaigns for social justice. Fifty years after the Brown decision, the movement has come to include racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and other groups, each demanding equal opportunity.